An aircraft for commercial purposes, used for transportation of passengers, is usually provided with a cabin equipped with seats to accommodate the passengers. The cabin floor is usually equipped with longitudinal rails, which are used to fix the seats but also other elements such as walls or furnishing components, also known as monuments.
In original manner, the present invention not only relates to fixation of diverse elements on the floor of an aircraft cabin but also it can relate to fixation of stowage bins or other elements at the ceiling of an aircraft cabin. A fixation system according to the present invention may also find an application in the hold of an aircraft for fixation of cabinets or technical elements.
The fixation rails for aircraft seats traditionally have regularly spaced anchoring points, with a pitch of generally one inch (25.4 mm). A rail of this type used in modern airplanes has the form, for example, of an I-beam topped by a projecting part, in which there is made a track used for fixation of seats (or other elements). Access to the track is possible via a longitudinal slot, which has circular apertures that are regularly spaced at the aforesaid pitch and have a diameter larger than the width of the slot.
To achieve fixation of a seat (or other element), there is used a bolt having a head and an externally threaded shaft. The head of the bolt is introduced through a circular aperture in the bottom of the track then is slid along until it is located between two neighboring circular apertures. In this way a seat fastening can be fixed on the rail by screwing it onto the externally threaded shaft with a nut or thumb wheel.
Usually the rail is made of aluminum or of an aluminum-base alloy. The fastening is most often made of steel. Corrosion problems then occur, especially in humid environments, due to the galvanic couple between aluminum and steel. In addition, liquids may pool in the track and favor such corrosion.
The solution adopted to avoid these corrosion problems is to make the rails of titanium or of a titanium-base alloy. However, this solution leads on the one hand to a large additional cost and on the other hand to a disadvantage in terms of weight.
It also is noted that the prior art fixation systems make the steps of mounting and demounting seats difficult. This leads to disadvantages during the cycles of installing and removing seats both during manufacture of the aircraft and during reconfiguration of the cabin in an operational aircraft.
Finally, the projecting part of the fixation rail, in which there is made the track used for anchoring seats, forms a raised structure at the cabin floor, and this must be taken into account for the covering of the cabin floor.
US document 2005/0211836 describes a seat-fixation system for an aircraft. This system can be fitted onto prior art rails or else onto new rails. This system is provided with a base having at least one clamping arm that is movable relative to the fixation rail between a position that permits passage through an aperture made in the rail and a locked position in which the arm cannot come out of the said aperture. Locking is achieved by means of a moveable lug associated with the base. Such locking is achieved in particular by threaded joints.
That document provides means for achieving mechanical anchoring of a seat on a fixation rail. The proposed systems necessitate several mounting and fixation operations. It is appropriate firstly to place the clamping arms in “open” position, then to move them to their “closed” position before completing the locking operation, for example by threaded joints. In addition, that document does not disclose any means with which an electrical connection can be established at the same time as the mechanical connection is established.
To improve passenger comfort on board an aircraft, it is becoming increasingly necessary to provide electrical cabling to the seats. This cabling may be used for auxiliary lighting, for electrical supply from an outlet, etc. Electrical cabling may also be necessary for sending information (calling a flight attendant, for example) and for permitting the passengers to access the Internet, for example, or to power a screen for showing a film, etc.